AFBI Seminar: Nature vs Man - the story of who or what shaped the present distribution of Irish freshwater fish

Dr Dennis Ensing (AFBI) will be giving a lunchtime seminar in AFBI Headquarters, 18a Newforge Lane, Belfast, BT9 5PX on Monday 28 November 2016 entitled "Nature vs Man - The story of who or what shaped the present distribution of Irish freshwater fish".

The Quaternary glaciations have shaped the current biogeography of European freshwater fish. Recent advances in glacial modelling and the use of genetic data have provided novel insights on how these glacial forces influenced dispersal of freshwater fish species from glacial refugia across the previously glaciated areas. Such studies are, however, hampered by the historical movement of fish species outside their natural ranges by man as they disturb the natural biogeographical signal.

The island of Ireland is a place where mankind has interfered extensively in the natural ranges of freshwater fish. This has caused misinterpretation of scientific data and has perpetuated misconceptions on the origin of some of the Irish freshwater fish fauna and biogeographical processes.

In this seminar the latest developments in understanding the postglacial dispersal of freshwater fish species to Ireland, and issues that can arise from underestimating the role of human intervention as an active biogeographic agent and a lack of understanding of glacial processes will be discussed.

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